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By Nur-e Rahman Nichols

Whether it was the challenge of it all – or if dumb luck just happened to propel me in this direction – I have found myself working in heavily male-dominated industries for the past ten years. From my very first experiences working with an executive leadership team composed of almost all male ex-officers, to the on-site client work in which I supported an army of (mostly male) clients in military uniform, I was living in a world containing very few people with whom I could identify.

Since March is National Women’s History Month, I thought it was appropriate to take time to reflect upon my career and how my view of leadership and mentorship has changed over the years.

At the beginning of my career, I survived by learning to talk the talk and walk the walk. I became “one of the guys.” I was dedicated to my work, intensely focused on my client service, and sure that I knew it all. The folly of youth comes in many forms. Professionally, you want to be the one with all the answers. But you don’t ever want to be the one who thinks they know it all. I only learned this because I had mentors to coach me through my earlier years.

Mentoring is an act of service. In honor of National Women's History Month, consider mentoring a woman.

When I interviewed with SunGard Availability Services to be an IT Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery consultant, the age-old question about what I was looking for popped up. I had seen many wonderful male leaders, learned from great male bosses, even emulated some of their behavior – for better and for worse. But this time around, my answer involved a deep-seeded desire to learn leadership from strong female leaders.

I wanted strong female mentors who could show me how to be successful without having to pretend to be one of the guys. I wanted to learn how to make it okay to be female, even feminine, in the workplace and have that be a positive value add. Gender shouldn’t be the first characteristic of mine that colleagues focus on, but I was finally ready to have gender enter the discussion. I couldn’t do this alone.

Mentoring is an act of service. I have long believed in seeking out the wisdom of those who have experience to share and insights to offer. Why endure the pain of the experience if you can save yourself the time and glean from someone else’s story?

It is only recently, however, that I have discovered the true depth of the impact my mentors have had on my career. I don’t deny myself my skills or talent, but I do believe the tricky task of navigating political minefields is something I could not have done without the leadership of my mentors. Throughout the years, I have turned to my mentors for guidance: career, moral, and developmental. I certainly didn’t make it this far alone.

"You certainly don’t have to be a woman to mentor, I think everyone should mentor and be mentored. But, if you are a woman, consider mentoring. If you aren’t a woman, consider mentoring one."

I remember the day when I looked up my leadership chain and found that not one person looked like me. Not one female member. Not one minority member. And certainly not one female minority member. I wondered, how do you survive long enough to climb the ranks?

The answer? You find allies who support you, who care if you succeed, and who invest in that success. They rejoice with you when you score a big proposal, or hit a client deliverable out of the ballpark. They stand by you when you question your decision or your choice. They know you have the potential to learn, if only you could have the opportunity. They make opportunities for you.

Mentors, like portfolios, should be diversified. If you’re seeking mentorship, here are some guidelines you can use to find the right fit:

mentors with similar interests.

Seek mentors with dissimilar interests.

Seek mentors young and old (as long as they have wisdom to share).

Seek out those individuals whom you can call upon in times of difficulty and gain perspective and even, maybe, options.

Seek mentors who care enough about you to challenge you to be better than you thought you could be.

As National Women’s History Month approached this year, I began to wonder what “acts of service” would translate to in the corporate world. The answer is mentoring. When you mentor, you enrich the career, and life, of another person.

What you probably don’t realize as you begin to give your time is that this enriches both of your careers. You, as a mentor, become a better manager. You become a better listener, a more concerned colleague, a more engaged individual. These skills all translate to numbers in the corporate sense, surely, but they translate even more so to the quality of individual you are. Outside of numbers, this brings dividends to your organization in spades.